With the World Cup Set to End, How Can Fans and Bettors Continue to Watch Soccer Through the Winter?

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If you are new to soccer, thanks to the 2022 Qatar World Cup, it is one of the only sports on the planet where fans and bettors alike can find a match on nearly every day of the year.

Because of the way the calendar is set up, with various domestic leagues in action at different times of the year, and in different time zones around the globe, soccer is the one sport on every sports betting app in Michigan that does not have an offseason. It is not like Major League Baseball, or really any of the other American sports, that go dark for a long period in between seasons: while the Premier League might be off in June and July, other leagues pick up the slack.

Usually, though, with normal summer World Cup tournaments, there is a lull in Europe–in the Premier League (England), La Liga (Spain), Bundesliga (Germany), Ligue 1 (France), and the like–after a major tournament ends and the new season begins.

But not this year: the “Winter” World Cup will end with the final on December 18 at Lusail Stadium in Qatar, and some domestic leagues (and cup tournaments) around the world will pick up nearly right away before the bunting can even be taken down around Doha.

For example, the Carabao Cup Round of 16 and Copa del Rey both kick off on Tuesday, December 20 with games spread over three days on ESPN+.

Many fans and bettors will be craving the return of the major leagues, and the Premier League comes back on Boxing Day (Dec. 26) with seven matches in four different windows.

But get this: if you were a fan of watching the World Cup every day for two and a half weeks, English football has a treat for you. Starting on the day after Christmas, there will be Premier League, Carabao Cup, and/or F.A. Cup matches on every day but one (Thursday, Dec. 29) all the way until Sunday, January 15.

Wow.

Right now, despite the fact that Arsenal sits atop the Premier League table by five points over defending champions Manchester City, it is the Cityzens that are the current favorites with sports books by a large amount (-190) over Arsenal (+225), with the rest of the trailing pack well back at 30/1 or higher as per Michigan betting offers.

It really looks like a two-horse race after the break, but can the Gunners hold off City to win?

Manchester City is also the current favorite to win the Carabao Cup (+175) ahead of Newcastle United and Manchester City, and also to lift the F.A. Cup (+350) ahead of Arsenal and Liverpool.

Just to finish it off, Manchester City leads the way in the futures odds for the UEFA Champions League, but the Cityzens have never won that cup.

So do not fret that the World Cup is over: you will have plenty of soccer ahead in the next six months.

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